Sheet-feeding machine.



Bf R. STICKNEY.

SHEET FEEDNG MAGHINE.

APPLLQAHON FILED JUNE so, 1909.

Patented NOV. 2, 1909;

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

f77, ven/071' JQ 1.4075216 y.

B. R. -STGKNBY.

SHEET FEEDNG MAGBINE.

APPLIQATION FILED JUNI: 30,1909.v

939,1 '77. Y l Ptented Nov, 2`, A1.909.

s SHEETS-SHEET 2,

im 'Hillilllih Imm-m fnvenwr B. R. STIGKNEY. SHEET FEEDING M HIBLlAPPLIGA'HONPILED JUNE 3011909.

. Patented Nam-2, 1909.

3 S-HEETS-SHE'ET 3.

Y Y r n HLIUM LIIVLIHW C AHH; li

lli'

UNITED STATES PATENT onirica..

BENJAMIN R. STICKNEY, OF TICQNDEROGA, YORK, ASSIGNRY OF NE=HALF '.TID

. JOSEPH E. RALPH; OF JOLIET', ILLINOIS.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN R. STICK- Nnr, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Ticonderoga, in the county of Essexand State of NewYork, have invented new andI user'ul Improvements in Sheet-Feeding-Mation. Y

This invention relates to that class of machines which are used forfeeding sheets of paper from a stack or pilec to a` printing press orother apparatus; and it has for its object to produce a simple andeiiieient mechanism for this puI'pGS. f,

I [n the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a sheetfeeding mechanism embodying invention. Fig. 2 is fa front' view thereofwith the withdrawing rolls removed. Fig. 3 is a side elevation. Fig. tis a section on line 4-4 of Fig.- 1,*and Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5of Fig. 1.

As illustrated, the main frame of the machine includes side platesA andAl which mayform integral extensions of the frame of the printing pressor other apparatus y, o which the sheet feeding mechanlsm is applied;but when necessary er desirable the sheet feeding mechanism in itsentirety may be constructed and supported independently of otherapparatus.

The side plates A and A are connected together by ahorizontal framecomprising transverse bars a, a and a2, which are connected together bytwo longitudinal bars as, the latter being located near the side platesA and A. The bars a and a. are bolted or otherwise secured to the sideplates, but the barl v ?,terminates' at its juncture with thelongitudinal bars a, as best shown in xtendin'g across the bars a, a anda2, are a series of slats Bwhich constitute thebed or support for astack or pile of paper, the individual sheetsV of which' are to besuccessively fed to the printing press or other apparatus, said slatsbeing spacedv apart to receive between them the sheet advancing bands Cwhich engageY the bottom sheet .of the stack and advance it to thewithdrawing rolls D and E.

Mounted beneath the bar a is a rock shaft f, and mounted on said shaftare two levers F and F which extend forwardly of the shaft, and whichcarry two rolls c and c', said rolls being mounted between the leversSpecfreation of Letters Patent.

Application 'lec June 30,

chines, of which the following is a specifica-- Patented Nov. 2;Y i909.1909. sern Naissance.

.with their ends journaied therein.' :Around said rolls are mounted aseries of endless which, when the levers are elevated, as shown in Fig.4c, project Slightly above the plane of the slats B iir'position tofrictionally engage the bottom sheet of vthe stack and advance it to thevwithdrawing rolls. v'Said bands are arranged to occupy the spacesbetween the slats B during the sheet advancing operatien, and to thendrop down below the slatsv to.' release the sheet from frietionalcontact during the operation of the withdrawing rolls which puit thesheet from beneath the stack vand deliver it to the printing press orother-apparatus. The Vlevers F and F areraised and lowered for i raisingand lowerin the bands C by means of cams AGr 'mounts on the main drivingshaft H ot the machine, each of said levers being provided with 'ananti-friction roller g which rests on one of the cams G, as shown shapedthat they will raise the levers F and Ff once in everylrevoiutiomtheperiod'of elevation being about onefthird of the complete revolution,this., in the machine shown, be-

ing suilicient to. advance the sheet to the Y withdrawing rolls.

The rolls c and c" are positively'rotatedby V,means of a gear' g mountedon the shaft H, said gear meshing with a gear g2 mounted on lthe leverF, the gear g2 in turn meshing with a pinion gdon each of the rolls cand c. The gears g and g2 are provided with teeth of sufficient lengthlto permit the levers F and F to be raised without separation ot thegears, the rolls and c being constantly driven during the operation cfthe machine, the direction of rotation being Ysuch as will cause theupper portions of the bands to trzlilvel in the direction of thewithdrawing ro s.

Mounted above the slats B are a series of endless bands J whichcooperate with the sheet advancing bands C to separate .the lowermostsheet of the stack of paper from the next adjacent sheet or sheets; andthese bands I term the sheetseparating bands.

Said bands are Vmounted on rolls j and y" journaled at their ends incoupling blocks 7'2, the latter being adjustably supported4 by ibrackets al secured to the main frame of the machine. The two relis jand y" are arranged one above the other with the upper bands G,preferably composed of rubber,

roll j slightly to the rear of the lower roll so as to provide foradjustments of the bands J with reference to the bands C, as will behereinafteil explained.

n the machine illustrated, there are six sheet advancing bands C, andcach operates in conjunction with a sheet separating band J, the latterbeing arranged to engage the bands C at a point slightly in advance ot'the stack or pile ot' paper from which the sheets are fed. 'lhe bands Jare intermittently moved iii a direction opposite to the direction ofmovement ot' the bands (.1, and for this purpose l provide the roll witha ratchet wheel /c which is engaged by a spring pressed pawl lc mountedon a lever lt. b'aid lever is pivotally mounted on the roll j concentricwith the axis of the i'atcliet wheel and extends rearwardly anddownwardly therefrom toa point above the driving shalt H.. At its outerend said lever carries an antifricton roller 102 which rests on a cani kmounted on the sha'ft H,- said cani being so shaped and positioned withrespect to the cams Gr that the lever K will be raised just after thecams Gr have raised the levers F and F. rthe pawl le being in engagementwith the ratchet wheel la, an upward movement of the lever l will causesaid wheel to be rotated for moving the roll y' and bands J in adirection opposite to the advancing movement of the bands C. A pawl j*mounted on the .coupling block; j: engages the ratchet wheel is andholds it and the bands J against movement in ai'opposite direction whenthe lever K descends. A spring /c4 is mounted between the lever l and apart of the frame of the machine to 4insure a prompt return movement ofsaid lever.

When the levers F andi" are raised by the cams Gr, the bands C engagethe bottom sheet of the stack and advance it to the withdrawing rolls Dand'E, and when the sheet reaches the bands J, which are then in.contact with the .bands C, said bands J are moved in a directionopposite to the travel of a the sheet, so that should more than a singlesheet be advanced by the bands C, the bands J will separate the sheetsby holding back the extra' sheet or sheets; the two sets of bandscooperating in a manner identical to the action of the 'thumb and fingerof the;

hand when slipped one over the other for' separating two or more sheets.

It sometimes happens 'that two or morcisheets will be so stuck togetherthat they cannot be readily separated by the bands C and J, and toprevent the possibility of two or more sheets passing to the withdrawingrolls, l provide additional bands L which are mounted on the rolls y'and y" in spaoesbetween the 'bands J. Two such bands are shown, and thiswill be suthcient in most instances, but a greater number may beprovided wheu found necessaryB These bands L The coupling blocks jtwhich directlysup j portthe rolls j and j are each secured to a bracketat by a single screw oi` bolt a5, the bolt being located midway betweenthe journaled ends of the rolls. The coupling blocks may theretorebeangularly adjusted with reference to the supporting brackets and 'lockedthereto in any desired angular position. Thisangular adjustment isprovided for regulating the l'iictional engagernci'it ol the bands Jwith thc sheet advancing bands (l. 0n referring to Fig. 4, it will beseenI toward or from the bands C, this adjustment being initiallynecessary to a proper working of the machine.

The witlidrawing rolls D and E have their ends journaled in the traineplates A and A', a sliding box e being provided at each end of the upperroll lil so that thc two rolls may be maintained in proper yieldingcontact. At or near the ends of the rolls I provide yokes M, the twoarms of which are pivotally connected together Vas at m. The outer endsof the arms are ar ranged to bear on the rolls to hold them in yieldingcontact, a bolt m2 and spring m operating to hold and press the armstogether, asclearly shown iii-Figs. i and 5.

The withdrawing rolls are driven by a ear P on the main shaft-ll, which,through intermediate gears p, 7i and y2 drives a pinion p3 on the end ofroll D. The gears p andp are mounted on the traine plate A, but the gearpis mounted on an adjustable arm g, said arin being provided with a slotg for the reception of a bolt g2 which sccures the arm to the plate A.The purpose of this arrangement is to permit gears of different sizes tobe placed between the 'gear p and the gear 723, so that thespeed of thewithdrawing rolls may bechanged accord-v ing to the size of the sheetsto be fed. Nhen it is necessary to change the speed of the withdrawingrolls, the gear'p2 is removed from the arm q and another ot differentsize is placed thereon and the arm adjusted accordingly, as will beunderstood.

The bed of the njiachinc is provided with adjustable guides betweenwhich the stack or pile of paper is placed, said guides serv :ition thesheets with ref-A ing to properly p erence to the :Seeding mechanism.Guards that 'the fi'ictional contact may be increased or diminished bymoving the lower roll 7'V v geen?? 1i aie provided for 1 preventing thesteek from contacting with the bends J andi.

The operation of the machine is as ollows: A. stachV or pile of paperhaving been placed between the guidesY ii. the niain driving shaft ieeet in motion in any snit-able manner. i show a sprocket wheei H mount`ed on the end of said shaft which may be driven by a chain from theSource of power. During each revolution of the driving shaft, the sheetadvancing bands C will be raised and iowered as hereinbeore explained,the bande being constantly driven for advancing the bottom sheetoi thepile to the withdrawing rolls. When seid bende are raised theyrictionally engage Said sheet and move it forward beneath the separatingbands J, vthe iatter at the proper momentmoving back against theadvancing sheet to seperate it from the nef/rt adjacent sheet or sheetswhich may have been moved forward by the movement of said bottoni sheet.The Inoveinent o the bottom sheet is continued until its forward end isengaged bythe withdrawing vol-1s D and E, At that; moment the advancingbande C drop away from the sheet so that its forther advance is eiiectedwholly by the i itiidrawing rolls free efroijn the friction of Saidbends. therefore ee from any liability of being` torn or mutilated. TheSpeed of the withdrawing rolls iniist be sniiicient to withdrew thesheet entiieiy from the stack before the bends C are again elevated, andit .will therefore be understood that the Speed must be regulated toSuit the sizeY of sheets being fed by the machine, this being effectedby chang ing the size of the geni7 p2, as aiready eX- plained. Should'two or mole sheets be stool; together so that they cannot be' separatedby the bands J, the' will be prevented from passing to thewithc rawingrolls bythe bands L, in which easeY the machine must. be stopped untilSeid sheets are removed.

The machine may be run at high epeed, and it will be obviousV that theeed wii be the seine regardless oi the Size of the sheets being fed.

{aving thus described my inventionwhat I claim as new and desire toSecure by Leb ters Petentis,

i. ln machine for stack or Pile, the combination oi pair ofwithdrawmgrolis, e sheet advancing-fdevice adapted to eng-nge a sheetand advance it from the stack or pile toseid withdrawing rolls and thenmove away from lsaid sheet,V and en inteemittentlg,7 movabie sheetseparating device movabie in a direction opposite to the travei'oi thesheet end adapted to cooperate with the sheet advancing device foreeparatingV theadvancing sheet from the next adjacent sheet or sheets.

2 in a machine' for feeding Sheets from a stackY or pile, the'combination ot a pair ot i by seid roii' adapted to eo The Sheets arefeeding sheets from a i withdrawing roi', a, sheetedveneing devine Iadapted to engage e sheet andedvence it to t said rolls and then `movefrom said g sheet, an intermittently inovabie Sheet sepe-V l ratingdevice Inovabie in a direction oppo) site to the travei of the sheet andadapted to cooperate with the sheet advancino device for separating theadvancing sheet from the next adjacent sheet or sheets, and ineens foi'relatively changing the speed of operation of the withdrawing rolle andsheet advancing device. Y

3. In e machine for feeding sheets ironia stach or piie the combinationof e pain of withdrawing rolle, a, constantly rotating sheet advancingdevice inovabie toward andA from the stack or pile and adapted to'engage i e sheet and advance to the withdi'awingl rolls, and anintermittently rotating' sheet separating device having an intermittentAPof Y'tating movement in e direction opposite to the travelV the sheetand adapted to engage therewith for separating; it troni thenextedjeeent sheet or sheets,

in e machine for feeding sheetsY freinasteck or piie, the combination ofa paie of withdrawing roiis, a seriesY of continnonsiy moving endlessbends adapted 'to frictionaly engage a Sheet and advance :it from thestack or pile to the withdrawingroiis'a'nd. then linove away from the.Sheet, and a eer:- ond sefies of endlees bands intermittentiy movabie ina direction opposite te the travel f of the sheet, saidY second set oi'bands being @dented to operate against the sheet advancing bende forseparating the advancing sheet from the next adjacent sheet or sheets` t5. In i machine for feeding Sheets from e Steck or pile, the combinationof e peiiT ot withdrewing roiis, a support 'for a Steck or pile ofpeper, av series of endless traveling;v bands adapted to be moved intocontact with i the bottom sheet of th stack ofpepei' ai'- ranged on seidsuppoift for ndvnncing the sheet to the withdriiwingroiis and to thereaftei" move away there ioni, e seconi of endiess bende mounted aboveSaid snpportzind edapted to tiictionaiiy engirge the' advancing sheet,and menne for intermittently moving said second eet eirbends in :tdirection opposite to the trevci of the sheet. Y

Sr in a machine for feeding' sheets from e stack`V ot pile, theeonihiinition of :i piiir ot withdrawingrrolie, a of endless trafvelinglinde adapted to be moved into Contact with the bottom Sheet ot' aYstack of paper iiirrzingeii on seid support for moving it to thewithdrawing relie and to then nieve away from said sheet., :i roilmounted above the plane oi the paper euppoit and adjustable withreiirence thereto, Seid reti beingTv intermittently rotated in a.direction oppoeite the direction oit the moving sheet-a series ofendloes bends caried t with. the

paper support, a Series sheet advancing bands for separating theadvancing sheet from the next adjacent sheet or sheets, and additionalbands' also carried by said roll above a portion of the paper supportfor the purpose specified.

7 In a sheet feeding machine, the combi` nation of a pair of withdrawingrolls, a paper support, a series of continuously moving bands adapted tofrictionally engage the bottom sheet of a stack or pile of paperarranged on said support and advance it to said rolls and to thereaftermove away therefrom, a pair of rolls above the plane of the papersupport, blocks connecting said rolls to ether at their ends, bracketssupporting said blocks, the latter being angularly adjustable withreference to the brackets, a series of bands mounted on said rolls andadapted to coperate with the sheet advancing bands for separating theadvancing sheet from the neXt adjacent sheet or sheets, and means forintermittently moving said bands in a direction opposite to the travelof the sheet.

8. In a machine for feeding sheets from a stack or pile, the combinationof withdraw.

ing rolls, a paper support, a pair of levers, rolls carried by saidlevers, a series of endh less bands carried by said rolls, a drivingshaft, a cam on said shaft adapted to cause said levers to move towardand from a stack of paper on said support, said bands beimT adapted tofrictionall engage a sheet of paper and advance it* rom the stack orpile to the withdrawing rolls, a gear on said shaft and suitable` gearson one of said levers meshing therewith for roiating the belt carryingrolls, and a series of endless bands adapted to coperate with the sheetadvancing bands for separating the advancing sheet from the nextadjacent sheet or sheets, said

